Decapitation of the Union

[Susan Higginbotham]

Thank you for your reply, Bill. I don't question your capability/authority to empathy - "feel" into the character you've researched so thoroughly. Thus I'd truly appreciate your opinion on my former question whether Booth would have used the "darling" name "Abe". I would think JWB hated the latter too much to do (even as irony) and would have addressed him in a more distant way.

I don't think the use of the term "Abe" necessarily connotes any sort of affection. John Surratt called Lincoln "Old Abe" in a letter to his cousin, and he certainly wasn't an admirer! It may be that whoever did the etching simply thought it was easier to etch the word "Abe" than "Abraham."